Tuesday April 14, 2015
(Africa, South Africa)

Today we managed to muster up the courage to leave the wine lands; it was a difficult decision, but it was time!

The morning saw us wandering Franschhoek and checking out many of the little shops we hadn’t had a chance to peruse yet. Sandra purchased a Panama hat in anticipation of the upcoming safaris. We also bought some ostrich biltong (South African dried meat) as a snack. And obviously we had to stop at the ice cream stand for some peanut butter and chocolate cones!

We’d received a tip (thanks, Tom!) to see a winery by the name of Delaire Graff in Stellenbosch. As that town was only about a twenty minute drive away, we thought it’d be worth taking a look. This place was by far the fanciest winery we’d seen yet! The first picture highlights the view from the grounds. Huge terraced gardens on a massive lot. Contemporary art and water features galore. Steel and glass everywhere. I was worried we wouldn’t even be able to afford the tasting, but it went off without a hitch. Each couple tried three wines at a cost of 50 ZAR, or about 5 CAD. Although that seems like a bit of a steal by our standards, it’s quite steep compared to the other wineries we’d visited!

One chardonnay, one shiraz, and one crazy blend of about eight varietals later, and we were off! We headed back in the direction of Franschhoek since our final destination was Gansbaai and we’d heard that driving through the Franschhoek pass was “the nicer way”. We were rewarded with some beautiful views over the town of Franschhoek as shown in the second picture.

As we continued through the pass we witnessed sunset over the rolling hills and wandering sheep.

We’re now in Gansbaai and preparing mentally and physically (with seasickness medication) for the boat journey tomorrow. Cage diving with sharks. We probably won’t return with many pictures, but we’re hoping to capture some video for you!